Rest easy knowing Cher’s “Goddess of Pop” sash remains in little danger of undue snatching; at 67, she sounds more convincing than J-Lo or Madonna reporting from “the club” on the Oakenfold-fueled single “Woman’s World” that opens her new album. While “Closer to the Truth” is smartly frontloaded with a heap of glossy South Beach bangers — including the fiery, heavenly heave of “Take It Like a Man,” the noir throb of “Dressed to Kill,” and “Red,” which hits you like a rum punch to the face — the second wind of her 26th album, presumably designed for the drive home from the club, seems to insist she’s more than a remix ingredient or Auto-tune fodder. Pink’s stomping kiss-off “I Walk Alone” makes for a defiant counterpart to her gorgeous closing crusher, “Lie to Me.”
“Ageless and sublime,” a slightly robotized Cher purrs amid the downright Pet Shop Boyish interior design of centerpiece “Lovers Forever” — and yes, that about says it. (Out Tuesday)